Forgetting And Forgiving
by Cosmic Creativity
Summary: Sometimes he forgot that his right arm was no longer that of flesh, but of cold, hard steel... EdxWinry fluff! One-shot


_**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, nor the characters... It is a sad truth. T-T**_

 _ **Note: I don't know who's older; Winry or Ed, so I'm just going to say Ed is younger by a few months.**_

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Sometimes he forgot that his right arm was no longer that of flesh, but of cold, hard steel. Sometimes he forgot he had to be more careful when swinging it around. Sometimes he forgot he had to be gentle. Sometimes he forgot... he wasn't entirely human anymore, with his menacing metal limbs.

He never had to remember during a fight. It was easier to just forget. He wouldn't hold back a punch fearing he might hurt the other. No, doing that would surely result in fatalities. He couldn't afford to be careful in a fight. In a dangerous fight, he would throw away his humanity and become the monster he knew he was. That monster was the only thing that would keep him alive. He became a monster.

But it was always hard to remember, when it came to reconnecting the limbs, and reattatching the nerves. It had to be the only thing on his mind, the only thing he focused on. He couldn't afford to lash out or jolt from the shock and pain of that single moment. He buried it all down, trying to bite back on the pain, ignore it.

He held his breath, clenching his eyes shut as he waited for the painful reconnection of his newly fixed arm. His head was still pounding from the particularily nasty fight he had just barely came out from only days ago. He was certain he had a concussion. It hurt like hell, and he found it hard to focus on anything while Winry worked busily on the wiring in his port.

"Okay, Ed. On one... two, three!" He bit back the scream trying to claw it's way up his throat. His eyes squeezed tighter at the intense shock that ran through his nerve endings.

"Ow!" Ed's eyes opened wide as he whipped his head around. His now attatched automail arm hung limply at his side. His eyes slowly wandered over to where Winry stood hunched over, clutching the side of her face as tears formed at the corners of her blue eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but found no words would come as he stared transfixed at her rapidly bruising cheek.

"W-win...ry. I-I..." He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, rushing to her side, arm outstretched towards her. He froze, however, as she flinched back away from him. His right arm hung frozen in the air, reaching for her. Her teary eyes met his, and he thought he could feel his heart break.

"Winry." He bowed his head, staring at the ground as his unruly bangs hid his face from her. He grit his teeth angrily. He had _struck_ her, lashed out. He had hurt her. His clenched fists shook at his sides as he was suddenly filled with an overwelming sense of self-loathing.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Before she could utter a single word in response, he was out the door, not once stopping to look back. Winry stood shocked, rooted to the spot, still clutching her aching cheek. The slamming of the front house door finally brought her out of her daze.

"Ed!" She called as she rushed from the room in pursuit of her friend. By the time she made it outside, she had lost sight of him.

She didn't know how long she searched for him, looking everywhere under the sun for any sign of the short blond. By the time she even thought to look by the riverside, she was tired and frustrated. Her irritation seemed to disappear, however, when she finally spotted the familiar golden braid. She slowly walked over to where Ed sat with his knees drawn close to his chest. His face was buried in the fabric of his pants, hiding his face from her. The setting sun glinted off his messy bangs, casting a little halo around his head. He looked like a child. She almost laughed. It was hard to believe that he was actually younger than her, only by a few months, but still. The thought suddenly made her feel very sad. She cautiously rested a gentle arm on his shoulder. He didn't move.

"Ed, come on. Don't do this. Don't shut me out," she pleaded softly. When she still didn't get a reply, she sighed and sat down beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while before Ed finally spoke.

"Winry, I... I am so sorry," he said, raising his head to look over at her. She frowned slightly, thinking back to when he had hit her. She knew it hadn't been on purpose. He had clearly been in pain, and it had been an involuntary jerk of the arm. Even now, the pain had long since faded away. Sure, it would probably leave a mark, but it would go away. It wasn't anything serious. She smiled at him.

"There's nothing to apologize for silly! It was just an accident. And look, I'm fine. See?" Ed stared at her, before smiling slightly. Hesitantly, he reached out his right arm, gently brushing the metal digits against her cheek. She smiled and clutched onto his hand, keeping it there.

"You know, even with that bruise, you're still the most beautiful person I've ever seen," he stated. Winry sighed in relief, a light blush dusting her face, happy to have him back to normal.

"And even with those metal limbs, you're still the most perfect person I know."


End file.
